The Puppeteer

CHAPTER 5



“HEY, SPANKY,” DANI SAID, dumping her bag in the small hall next to the butler's pantry.

“Hey, Mack,” he called back from the kitchen.

Dani strode in, leaned her hip against the kitchen island, and surveyed the scene. Spanky, one of the skinniest people Dani knew, was making a sandwich stuffed with some sort of meat. Mustard, mayonnaise, and horseradish jars were scattered around him. It wasn't even ten in the morning.

“I'm not backing you up if you get heartburn or die of a heart attack.” She made a face at him.

He grinned and took a bite of his sandwich. Then his eyes moved to a point behind her.

“Ty,” she said motioning him forward. “This is Conner James. Conner, this is Detective Ty Fuller.”

Ty stepped forward and the two men shook hands.

Dani didn't miss the quick assessment Spanky gave Ty. She wondered what he saw.

Ty was an imposing man. At well over six feet, he wasn't quite muscularly bulky, but not lean either. He was built solid and, even with clothes on, it was easy to see he kept in shape. Aside from his physique, his eyes were dark and flashed with a combination of intelligence and a healthy dose of wariness. He was the kind of man who watched, observed, and took stock. Though it might make her job harder, she had a certain amount of respect for that.

“Call me Ty, please,” he said.

Conner smiled. “You can call me Spanky, everyone does.”

Spanky was one of Dani's favorite people to work with. At a few years younger than her, his off-color and irreverent humor, coupled with his intense focus and intelligence, balanced the team well. Just seeing his goofy grin could cut any escalating tension in the group, whether it was from an external source or from frustration with a colleague.

“Spanky is in charge of audio and tech surveillance. He's got a couple of people working with him. Some may be around, but most likely they're out now. If you have any questions about the audio, talk to Spanky.”

“Where are you set up?” Ty asked, propping his hip on the kitchen island too.

Spanky finished his bite before answering. “Phones, satellite, electronic ears, the usual.”

“Electronic ears?” Ty smiled at the term.

“Not quite as cool as the eavesdropping devices from Harry Potter, but much stronger and you can't see ‘em.” Spanky took another bite.

“I can't imagine you're dropping them down stairwells. Where do you set them up?” Ty asked, genuine curiosity clear in his voice.

“Cars most of the time but, since he's so isolated, it would be too obvious. So, little does Getz know, but his trees, and his walls, have ears,” Spanky gave them a dramatic, conspiratorial wink.

“Trees?” Ty responded with surprise. “Aren't they visible?”

“If we'd been here two months ago, when none of the trees had leaves, yeah, that would have sucked. But, there are enough leaves now that, unless his goons are building a tree house, they aren't going to see a thing. And believe me, from what little we've seen, his goons don't carry anything heavier than a Glock.”

“How big are they?”

“The goons? I've seen bigger,” Spanky shrugged and smiled.

Ty's mouth curled into a half grin. “The ears.”

Spanky held up half his sandwich in response.

“And they're good?”

Spanky's eyes glittered with admiration. “They are fabulous. We've picked up some interesting things in the last few days. Come see when you're done with the meet and greet. I'm housed in the parlor,” he winked at Dani. “Oh, wait,” he paused for dramatic effect. “Maybe it's the morning room, or the blue room, I just can't keep them all straight.”

Ty chuckled. Dani rolled her eyes. “It's the third door on the left from the center hall.”

“Come by, I'll show you my toys,” Spanky added, as he waltzed out of the kitchen.

“Interesting character,” Ty commented.

“Yeah, don't let the grin fool you though, he's one of the best surveillance guys I've ever worked with. It's frightening the things he can pick up.”

Ty's expression turned thoughtful as he watched the empty doorway. Then his eyes swung toward hers. She sensed he was about to say something about their night together. She remembered how vocal they'd been and it wasn't hard to come up with a few things herself. She cleared her throat.

“Come on,” she motioned for him to follow. “I'll introduce you to the rest of the team so you can then forget their names.”

Marmie looked up as they entered and pushed to her feet. “Mack,” she said holding her arms out. Dani stepped into the hug without hesitation. Marmie was stick thin with no figure to speak of, with black hair pulled back into a low bun and glasses hanging around her neck. Her clothes, always gray or black, hung off her body at least a size too big. But, despite her somber and somewhat stern appearance, she had a heart of gold. And, truth be told, Marmie was the only one capable of keeping her teammates sane—capable of keeping them out the black abyss of helplessness that tempted them with every new mission.

When Ty shifted behind her, Dani remembered she and Marmie were not alone. “Ty, this is Rose Davies, also known as Marmie. Marmie, this is Detective Ty Fuller.” Ty stepped forward and shook hands with Marmie.

“Marmie is our sifter.” Dani took a few seconds to explain what that meant. “She also has a couple of folks downstairs who focus on finding patterns and connections. You might meet them but my guess is they don't come up very often?” She added this last bit with a confirming look at Marmie who nodded her head.

“They're kind of a unique breed,” Marmie shrugged. “There's a kitchen down there, bedrooms and tons of space. When I have my meetings, which is twice a day, you'll see them dragging themselves upstairs. If you need something or have any questions, come to me.” Marmie paused, glanced at Dani, and then nodded to the door behind them. “Or Adam.”

Adam Francey stepped into the room and then smiled when he saw Dani.

“Dani!” he exclaimed stepping forward and giving her an enthusiastic handshake. Dani liked Adam, but he was a little like a puppy dog. He was the new kid on the block and a little over-the-top enthusiastic, but he also showed an incredible ability to absorb and sift through intelligence. Marmie had spotted him early in his training and snatched him up.

“Adam, good to see you again. This is Detective Ty Fuller, Portland Vice. He's our liaison on the case,” she added, indicating the man who had somehow managed to move a little closer to her without her even noticing—which was a bit disconcerting.

“Detective, it's good to meet you,” Adam pumped Ty's hand, sharing his trademark enthusiasm. Dani hadn't noticed the tension in Ty's body until she saw his shoulders relax with Adam's effusiveness. She glanced at his face and wondered if it was tension related to meeting new people, or related to her. She frowned, wondering if it was a mistake to not address the night before. Ty had given her no indication so far that he had any serious issue with her insistence on leaving the personal out of the investigation. But he hadn't said he agreed either.

“How long you been with vice?” Adam asked, still smiling.

“A few years. I was a SEAL before that, though,” Ty answered, much like he would if he were talking to a young boy.

“A SEAL? Really? Wow.” Adam eyed Ty again.

Dani smiled to herself. Ty might think the young man was looking at him in awe. Adam's voice was a pretty good imitation of admiration. But Dani knew the real Adam. The enthusiasm was real, but he was not naïve or easily impressed. Knowing Ty was a SEAL, that he was more than just the average, small city detective would change the filter Adam used when talking to Ty. She had no doubt his brain was sifting through information right now, breaking it down into categories—information he could share and information he could not, or would not, share.

“So, Dani filled you in?” Adam asked, clearing a spot on the desk across from Marmie's and leaning against the edge.

Ty wagged his head, “More or less.”

Adam's eyes sought hers.

A twitch of her brow communicated her answer. Just the bare minimum. Adam's acknowledgment was even smaller. Spanky and Marmie had both done an excellent job of giving Ty information without actually giving him information on the case.

“Good, glad to hear it. If you need any information or have any questions, I'll be happy to help as much as I can.”

Ty's look of mild amusement was becoming very familiar. The last part of that sentence hadn't gone unnoticed.

“Thanks, I appreciate it. I do have some questions. Where can I find you later?” Ty continued.

Again, Adam cast a glance in Dani's direction. She gave him an almost imperceptible nod. She trusted Adam.

“Here or downstairs. If you can't find me, ask Marmie. She always knows where I am.”

Adam rose from his perch, thumbed through some papers and then straightened. “Well, we're running some numbers downstairs so I guess I'll see you around. Good to see you Dani,” he added as he disappeared down the hall.

“Nice meeting you Detective Fuller,” Marmie said as she turned back to her computer, dismissing them.

“We have a couple more people to meet,” Dani said.

While her team had been a team for a long time, they didn't usually work in the same proximity. It did happen on occasion, but much of what they did could be done from remote locations, leaving just the field agents on the ground. But that wasn't the way the DEA operated, so here they all were. Keeping up appearances. It made for long introductions, but if Dani were pressed, she'd admit it was kind of nice to be surrounded by everyone. Especially on this case. They weren't all personally friendly, but she didn't doubt for a second that everyone in the house would have her back if needed.

“This way.” As Dani ushered Ty out of the room, she recognized the look of interest in his expression. His eyes were sweeping the room, taking it all in. And judging by his wry comments, her unspoken communication with Marmie and Adam hadn't gone unnoticed either.

She walked ahead of him through the enormous main hall of the house in silence, cursing the fates again, whatever their names were, for throwing a man like Ty onto this case. He wasn't going to miss a thing.

“What was that look about?” he asked, as if to prove her point.

“Nothing,” she responded, climbing the stairs to the second floor.

“Liar.”

“I wouldn't want to disappoint you. I am a federal agent.”

“So federal agents lie?”

“Doesn't matter if we do or don't, the locals always think we do anyway. Right?”

“Just as often as you feds think the locals are backward yokels unable to grasp simple concepts—like the fact that there is more to this case than you're letting on. Agent,” he added.

Dani could argue with him, but it wasn't worth the effort. If he'd already figured out there was more to it than Getz and Eagle's Wing, she was better off not saying much of anything at all. That there was a chance the investigation might surface some facts about the weapons everyone in the broader US intelligence world would want to keep a lid on was paramount. As for her, this case was the case she'd been waiting for her whole career, it was her reason for joining the CIA in the first place. She wasn't going to let anyone or anything interfere with it—including Ty. And neither of those aspects of the investigation were anything she or the team wanted to share with anyone.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been an issue. Jurisdictional courtesy between the DEA and the local law enforcement was encouraged but not required. And sharing wasn't all that big with the CIA either. But, in this situation, they didn't have a choice. Playing nice with the locals was the price her team paid to the DEA team who would have handled the case if CIA hadn't taken over. If they weren't going to get the credit, Drew had to at least agree to preserve their relationship with Portland PD.

With a renewed focus and plan, Dani sighed. Glancing at her watch, she wondered how long she'd have to shuffle him around before he settled somewhere and she could get away from him. And it didn't escape her that this sentiment was a far cry from less than twenty-four hours ago, when she couldn't seem to get enough of him. If she let herself, she might even start to feel a bit schizophrenic about it.

“Earth to Dani,” Ty's voice came from behind her.

“Hmm?” she turned and looked at him over her shoulder.

“I asked where we're going? Since you don't seem interested in telling me what's going on inside that head of yours, I might as well meet everyone and see if someone might find me useful.”

She wanted to say, “Don't count on it,” but held her tongue. Her team was top notch and didn't tend to take to outsiders. Trusting someone from the outside, even if they were trustworthy, added a layer of complexity to the investigation no one wanted. As far as Ty was concerned, the less said, the fewer opportunities he would have to question them or their actions.

“We're going to meet Cotter, who runs visual surveillance, then I'll take you up to the sunroom to have a look at Getz's compound. After that, if there's anything you want to follow up on before you leave, feel free.”

“Aw shucks, you're just saying that.”

She turned and caught his eye. And laughed. He knew there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell he would be ‘free’ to follow up on anything. At least he had a sense of humor about it.

As they climbed the stairs to the second floor, Ty changed modes. “Since you're not going to tell me anything interesting, explain the handles to me.” It was an easy topic. A safe one. And one that would keep him from thinking about the case, and what she wasn't saying.

“Where should I start?” she glanced back at him over her shoulder.

“Marmie.”

“Marmie looks like the quintessential school Marm, don't you think? She's an amazing woman. I've worked with her a long time and not a single thing has changed about her. Not her hair, not her clothes, not her glasses. She could be anywhere from forty to sixty. I have no idea.”

“You mentioned a Cotter?”

“Cotter's handle followed him from the Army and he refuses to tell anyone the origin. Adam's too new to the team, he doesn't have one yet. And Spanky, well,” she paused, searching for the right words. “Let's just say that when he was in training, he spent a lot longer in the shower than most of the other guys.”

Ty chuckled. “Hell of a stigma to carry around. Though, of course, he didn't seem to mind,” he added. “And what about yours, Mack?”

Dani winced to herself. She knew the origin of her name and had always thought it sounded more sarcastic than true. But in the confines of the stairwell, walking so close to Ty and refusing to acknowledge anything about the night before, she heard a ring of truth in it, and it didn't feel good. So she hedged.

“Long story,” she shrugged. “But it's short for Mack Truck.”

That earned another small, knowing laugh. “Let me guess, you run your investigations like one?”

She did, that was true, but that wasn't where the name came from. They hit the landing and she moved to look out one of the tall windows. The peninsula where Ramon Getz's house sat was visible over the bluff, but she pointed it out.

“We can start to see his property from here,” she explained. “After we meet Cotter, I'll take you up to the sunroom where we have a great view of his place.”

“You have people set up in the sunroom?” Ty asked.

“Not full time. Most of them are set up closer, but Cotter sends people up every now and then. It's a convenient site, but doesn't add to what we're seeing from some of the other locations.”

Ty nodded and she moved away from the window.

“So the name. Mack,” he repeated. “Was I right? Are you a Mack Truck?”

“When it comes to men, according to Spanky and Adam, I am,” she answered, figuring honesty was the best route.

“Men?” His head drew back and an eyebrow arched.

“Yes,” she said. “The team teases me about my dating practices. Or lack thereof, since I don't date often,” she added. “Anyway, they claim, that I'm like a Mack Truck when it comes to men—I barrel in and barrel on, leaving men emotionally flattened behind me.”

“Emotionally flattened.” Ty repeated the words, testing them. They were silent for a few minutes, and then Ty made a little “huh” sound.

She stopped and turned to face him.

“Was that a warning?” he asked. He didn't look warned off.

“Just a fact. You asked about handles, now you know,” she lied. She wanted him warned off. For her sake probably more than his.

“For the record,” he said. “I wouldn't agree with the assessment. To emotionally flatten someone, you'd have to get emotionally involved, and I'd wager that's something you don't do, is it, Agent Williamson?”

The comment unsettled her, even as her eyes held his. There was no challenge, no judgment in his voice, nothing she could respond to. And when she realized he wasn't going to push, he wasn't going to demand an answer, her heart rate kicked up and she could feel the sudden rush of blood course through her body. He wasn't going to give her an easy out. Whatever she did or however she responded would rest on her shoulders.

She pulled her gaze from his and moved toward a closed door. “I think it's time to meet Cotter.” She directed him to a room toward the back of the house and made the introductions. While the two men talked, Dani stepped away and took a deep breath. It was no surprise to her that what she wanted most at that moment was to be with her team. The familiar, the safe. But it wasn't an option, at least not right now.

She glanced at Ty, talking with Cotter. To be fair, he hadn't crossed a line, just made an observation. And she couldn't muster any self-righteous anger because he was right or because he was wrong. Introspection was not her strong point. And that, she realized, was the real problem. She didn't know the answer to the question—hadn't ever considered it. Was pretty sure she didn't want to either.

Sex, she thought. It would be much easier to spar and parry with him if he kept the personal comments on the topic of their physical encounter, or encounters to be precise. Lord knows there was enough to comment on, even though they'd only spent about eight hours together in his loft.

Pushing the emotional ‘stuff’ from her mind, she deliberately remembered the way he touched her, the way he felt against her hands—the physical, the easy—and a satisfied smile touched her lips.

After leaving Cotter, Dani led the way to the sunroom. The final stop of the tour. Though she'd dismissed the subject of ‘feelings’ from her mind, she didn't like the way his presence set her on edge. He wasn't doing anything but his job, but she wanted to be away from him. She wanted to be holed up with Marmie and the rest of the team digging into Getz, the Eagle's Wing, and their two primary suspects for drug sources, Sonny Carlyle and Joseph Savendra.

Shaking her head at herself, Dani stepped into the sun room. “Here,” she said, handing Ty a pair of high-powered binoculars.

“That's his house, out there on the point.” She took up her own set of binoculars. For a few minutes, they were both silent, lost in the surveillance of Getz's house.

“I never thought I'd see the front of his house,” Ty commented, eyes still glued to the binoculars.

“But you've seen the back?”

“From the ocean. I've gone by a couple of times in a friend's boat. It's a hell of a compound, even from a mile out in the ocean.”

Dani gave a little laugh of agreement. “Yeah, no kidding. His private peninsula, a huge house, clinging to the hill, almost camouflaged. There's a boathouse on the other side with mooring for his eighty-foot yacht and a couple of empty bays.”

“Is that how you think the shipment is going to come in? By boat?”

Dani lowered her binoculars and looked at the area, taking in the larger details. “Yeah, I do. We don't know for certain but I think it's going to come down the coast.”

“Down the coast? Why not up the coast?” Ty asked, lowering his binoculars and turning to Dani.

It was a legitimate question, and one she didn't have a solid answer for, just a couple of hunches. “All I can say is it's a hunch. Bradley Taylor, the head of the Eagle's Wing group has a cousin from his mother's side living in New Brunswick. We don't have any definite communications between the two, but the cousin, Martin Cassidy, has been known to share some of the same ideals as Bradley.”

“A Canadian? You don't meet too many anti-government Canadians.”

“He lives in Canada, but he's not Canadian. Cassidy grew up on the Texas plains. Has a girlfriend who inherited some property in Nova Scotia so they took off to live somewhere they didn't have to pay for.”

“Any problems with him?”

“Standard stuff you'd expect. Some poaching violations, some gaming violations. A couple of drunk and disorderly citations, but nothing to suggest he's helping to plan a terrorist attack on the US.”

“Then again, nobody suspected Timothy McVeigh, either,” he said. She could feel Ty studying her before turning back to the window. “Does Getz have any cousins in Boston or New York or New Haven?”

Dani knew what he was asking, wasn't it just as possible the drugs could come from another direction? With a connection as tenuous as a distant cousin, his doubt was reasonable.

“Like I said, a hunch.”

“But you're watching? You've got surveillance on the water.”

Dani sighed. It was the one sticking point of their surveillance, the one area where she wasn't satisfied with their resources or capabilities. “Not as much as we'd like. We've got the coast guard on the alert, but since we can't tell them what to look for and don't want to raise a lot of noise, they'll be as helpful as they can. As for our own, we have a couple of boats we send out a few times a day to get a lay of the land, so to speak. They aren't set up for serious marine surveillance.”

“Too bad,” Ty commented. It wasn't a judgmental statement, just commiseration on the lack of resources from one branch of law enforcement to another.

Dani shrugged in agreement and then swung around in surprise as the door opened behind them.

“Drew!” Dani exclaimed. They took a few steps toward each other and within seconds, she was enveloped in a huge hug. She pulled back and kissed him on the cheek. “What are you doing here so soon?”

“It's nice to see you, too Danielle,” he smiled down at her, one arm still wrapped around her shoulder.

“Did you see the family?” she demanded. “How's our new nephew?”

“Yes and he's great. Just like my brother. We can hope he gets your sister's looks,” he answered and Dani laughed as a gentle cough came from behind her.

“Oh,” Dani stepped away from Drew. “Ty, this is our team director, Andrew Carmichael. He's the lead on this case. His brother also happens to be married to my sister, Sammy,” she explained. It probably wasn't necessary, but by now she knew it would have piqued his interest when she asked Drew about ‘our nephew,’ and their association wasn't a secret. “Drew, this is our local liaison, Detective Ty Fuller.”

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Ty stepped forward and shook Drew's hand.

“Dani showing you around?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then you've met the team.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Call me Drew,” he said.

Ty nodded.

Dani watched the two men take stock of each other. They were about the same height and had the same air of confidence, but beyond that, they were about as opposite in looks as two men could get. Drew was lean and lanky, like a swimmer, and, even at the age of thirty-eight, his blond hair and smile made him look like a frat boy or member of a Hamptons yacht club. Ty, on the other hand, was dark—black hair, dark eyes, and mixed heritage. Drew looked like the product of years of breeding amongst the social elite of the East Coast. Ty looked like a mix of different races, bred to survive and thrive. Maybe some Asian or Native American, mixed with something of Celtic origin, Irish or perhaps Scottish.

“What are your thoughts?” Drew asked with a nod in the general direction of Getz's domain.

Ty picked up his binoculars again and turned to have another look. “Tactically, it's well positioned. Hard to plan a stealth attack on a place surrounded on three sides by water. Then again, that's old thinking. Not as true as it used to be with the developments in underwater surveillance. I assume he has underwater security?” he asked, turning back to face Drew.

“We're working on the details,” Drew answered. Ty turned thoughtful for a moment, not really looking at her or Drew, but focused more on the empty space between them.

“And your visual surveillance?” he asked, picking up the glasses again.

“Cotter can go through that with you if you want the details. It would be good for your team to know where we are.”

Ty nodded. “Dani thinks the shipment is going to come from the north. Do you agree?” Ty asked.

“It's a hunch, we're not certain one way or the other right now. For all we know it could be coming by seaplane.”

“But you don't think it is, and you agree with Dani,” Ty commented.

Dani cast Drew a quick look and caught him studying the detective. A second later he flicked his gaze to Dani and she confirmed his snap observation with small nod. Ty wasn't the average cop.

“Yes, I do. I've known Dani long enough to know her hunches are more likely than not to be true.”

“So I see,” Ty replied.

Dani frowned at Ty's tone and then turned away when her cell phone buzzed in her pocket.

She took the call, keeping her eyes on Drew who was keeping his eyes on Ty. A few seconds later she ended the conversation and slid her cell back into her pocket.

“That was Marmie,” she said to Drew, whose eyes had flickered back to her when her phone snapped shut. “She says the house is too big to bother trying to find me,” she smiled and shrugged. She glanced at Ty then at Drew.

“I'll take Detective Fuller back down to Cotter when we're finished up here.” Drew's eyes held hers.

Drew had picked up on the tension between her and Ty and his silent disapproval was clear—casting a shadow over their initial pleasure of seeing one another. He was the team director, she reminded herself. He had reason to disapprove. They—she—couldn't afford to have any slip-ups on this one. Dismissing the urge to make excuses, she nodded before leaving the two men in silence.